The Indianapolis journal., 1887-12-11
WHERE LEPERS COME FROM
More Have Been Brought from Africa
than from Any Other Country.
Many Cases Have Also Been Found Among
Scandinavians in the Northwest-His-
tory Of the Disease in America.

L. now appears that the advocates OF the creed
otretribution earth for the sins of men will
ind cogent argument in the existence of
sprosy in this country as result of the nation
al crime Of slavery. The cases of two female
lepers recently found ar Philadelphia has caused
the subject to become one OF quite general con-
sderation. and one result Of it has been to show
that people generally have very incorrect ideas
concerning the disease, especially as to the
danger of contracting it from contagion. 1t is
Snly q short time since anti Chinese agtator
was prevented from producing at a lecture in
all the larger cities two Chinese lepers. merely
from supposed danger to the public health.
The notion that all the leprosy in the country 10
imported from China is certainly very common.
A Journal reporter referred to this. few days
ago in the presence of DR.. Ralph ST. j. Perry.
who has made extensive study of the subject,
and that gentleman at once denied that any
material amount of the leprosy existing in the
United States was brought from China.
where then did it come fromp asked the
porter.
THE introduction of Ieprosy to the United
States was the direct result of the African slave
trade. The Chinese have never brought any
thing like the amount the negroes did" said DIR.
Perry.
How soF'
We'll, for several reasons. Primarily the ne
groes have been coming to this country for some
two hundred gears, and then Africa Is the origi-
nal home of leprosy. For many years before
the war leper colonies existed throughout the
slave States. Some of these have become prom
inent in medical histories. notably the one in
Louisiana just outside of New Orleans, near
the bayou known Terres dos Lepres Colonies
also existed in Alabama and Georgia. the records
Of which nave been made known TO the medical
world. After the close of the war; when the
negroes were not of much value to the Southern
whites, they were left to shift for them
nies oisse' disbanded. ana The " ony one % still in
existence is the one near New Orleans. and
it has almost died out. Since the recent
influx of European emigrants numerous cases
have been detected amongst the Scandinavian
I'eople. Many of these have been denied ad-
mission to this country, but some have sue
ceedeo in entering anyway, and are now living
in our Northwestern States. A few years ago the
1ate DIR. Farouarson, then secretary of the Iowa
state Board of Health, sought out the records
e. all the cases known to have existed in Iowa,
~" cousin and Illinois; these numbered some
Ii nty odd cases. and all are now dead. At the
of his investigation Q684l he reported that
20 were then In the State OF Iowa.
think some have come in since then, as last
miner. in talking with a citizen OF tDat sec
on he told me that he knew of several cases.
mics in Wisconsin. aad | have frequently
accounts of them in newspapers.
Iaquiry amongst Wisconsin professional men
faIIs 10 locate them everyone denying all knowl-
1ge of them. In California and other Pacific
States some lepers have been discovered amongst
The Chinese, but na nearly as many as one
would suppose. The general antipathy towards
Chinese has led to great exaggeraton of all
Their faults, and IL is that about twice year
nsstonai articles portraying the horrors of
l-brosv. make the rounds of the newspapers.
Ile history of leprosy in the United States is
It such to cause any apprehension. There
was case or leprosy IN TINS country out
What was imported. and these have all died
without transmitting the disease to others
rs leprosy contagiousP
TIE transmission of leprosy requires incubation
or the direct transfer OF the virus into the
blood of the person. Then, again, leprosy de-
veiopes only certain countries under certain
conditions. People who eat much fish and live
the coast are most afflicted as we see in
Africa Scandinavia. China, the Indies and
other localities / noticed in Africa that while
leprosy was very prevalent along the coast, it
rarely met with in the interior"
us leprosy common in Africa now?"
Eyes along the coast During my stay in
Liberia l saw about one hundred cases in the
various stages Some were children, who had
evidently inherited the disease from their
parents but most of them had contracted it
after reaching the age of puberty. The natives
told me that the disease was common along the
coast"
spread of the diseaseF
Isolation. But It need not be as exclusive as
generally stated.
''If afflicted persons were prevented from hav-
ing offspring, to whom the disease is transmitted,
1t would do more to exterminate the disease than
anything else OF course. in other blood dis
eases isprosy can be contracted innocently, but
1 do not think it occurs very often. do not
have much faith in the colony system, as it only
limits the disease to certain territories and does
prevent it's transmission. Children
born, and visitors may be infected. in these col
ouies, and the disease go just the
though it were abroad in the land"
What is the treatment2'
principally palliative. The disease is recog-
nized incurable. There but one
two cured, aud then it by divine
aid. The fact is that leprosy antedates all known
history. religious or otherwise, and in all ancient
works is spoken of as incurable, which would of
itself, without any clinical knowledge, point to
inability to conquer it. The palliative treat
neut consists of morphine the iodides, oil charl-
mooera and numerous other anodynes, and dis
c1tieuts, together with tonics. The disease is
divided into three stages and each stage is treat
ed according 20 the symptoms manifested. In the
ous and rot of, some relief be given by am
putation AS rule however, treatment does
very little good. even pslliatively. and the vic
tim soon dies The average life after the disease
first shows itself is about ten Years. Hereditary
cases live longer, tho disease does not show
itself before puberty"